Solids feeder



NOV- 20, 1945. P. E. THOMAS 2,389,556

SOLIDS FEEDER Filed June '16, 1944 u T] Il v INVEN TOR.

PA ENE' E THOMAS ATTIPNEYS Patented Nov. 20, 1945 SOLIDS FEEDER Parke E.Thomas, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Republic Steel Corporation,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 16, 1944,Serial No. 540,735

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the art of handling ne solids andmore particularly to new apparatus for controlling the feed of finesolids from the hot fines return hopper of a sintering machine,

In the operation of sintering machines the material which is on thepallets and which has been subjected to sintering operations isdischarged onto screens or grizzlies which permit the ne materials topass therethru into a hot fines hopper but retain the larger pieces ofsintered material. Frequently the sintering operation is notsatisfactorily completed and when that is the case the iine materialwhich passes thru the grizzly may include ne, unsintered, moisturecontaining material. When such material passes thru the grizzly and intothe rines hopper therebeneath and is subsequently covered with hot dryfines, pressure is created in the material due to evaporation of themoisture from the unsintered, moist material. Since the Iines are beingcontinuously withdrawn from the nes hopper, the pressure thus created isusually relieved by escape of the water vapor thru the hopper dischargeopening. Frequently the pressure created by these vapors is so high thatwhen the gases escape thru the discharge opening of the hopper they, ineffect, blow out large quantities of the ne material, often as much asseveral tons -at a time. since the ne materials from the hopper are fedinto a pan and thence onto a conveyor, the capacity of the pan andconveyor may be greatly eXceeed by such blow-outs, with the result thatthe nes will overow the pan and conveyor and pile up on the floor. cursthe nes which have overlowed the pan and conveyor must be cleaned up andfrequently the sintering machine has to be shut down while that work isbeing done.

The present invention aims to prevent such blow-outs and the work, lossand annoyance incident thereto, and achieves this aim by providing newapparatus which prevents such blow-outs and necessitates escape ofvapors under pressure in the hopper thru the inlet opening thereof.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a side elevational View, showing one form of apparatusembodying the present invention associated with a fragmentary part ofthe fines hopper of a sintering machine and a con- Vveyor for nesremoved from said hopper;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view showing the left end of theapparatus of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevational view taken from When such a blow-out oc-Vconnectors I S.

the right hand end of the apparatus of Fig. 1; and,

Figure 4 is a vertical, central, sectional view taken on line 4 4 ofFig. 2.

In the drawing the nes hopper I of a sintering machine is provided witha discharge opening 2 in its lower portion and a gate 3 which serves tocontrol the flow Aof fine material thru that opening. A housing 4 isattached to hopper I around opening 2 and gate 3 and has an opening inits upper wall thru which gate 3 may be moved by any convenient meansas, for example, a rack 5 on the gate and a pinion 6 on a chain wheelactuated shaft 1, as is better shown in Fig. 3. This housing 4 extendsdownwardly and has an open bottom 8 and an open lower end 9 which isadjustably closed by a slide gate I0 which may be adjusted to anydesired position by a lever It.

The top wall of housing f1 has a transverse depression 4a which forms arestriction cf the chamber within the housing.

A pan I4 is positioned beneath housing s and includes a bottom wall I5which is located a few inches below the open bottom il of housing 4 andwhich projects beyond each end of the housing, as is better shown inFigs. 1 and 4. The pan I4 also includes side walls I5 which extendupwardly from the bottom wall l5 on the outside of housing 4, so thatthe housing and pan are, in eiiect, telescoped one into the other. PanIll, near its discharge end, rests on spring supports l'l and at itsother end is supported on a vibrator I8 which is connected to the hopperIby adjustable spring rlihe vibrator I8 is connected to the bottom wallI5 of hopper i4 and is of the conventional electrical type. Whenenergized, it causes the pan Ill to reciprocate endwise and therebyprogressively feed ne material toward and off its lower discharge endonto a conveyor belt 20.

It will be noted that the lower end of gate I!) is shown as beingapproximately 3 from the top surface oi bottom wall I5 of pan Ill, andthat the open bottom 8 of housing 4 is only a little farther above wallI5. It will also be noted that the side walls IS of the pan extend wellabove the open bottom 8 of housing lI- and the bottom edge of door lill,that is, approximately 18". Since the sides of the housing are thus welltelescoped between the sides of the pan and each side wall of thehousing is close to its side wall of the pan, there is little tendencyfor ne materials to overflow the pan outside of the side walls of thehousing. Substantially the only flow of fine materials from the housinginto the pan is thru the open bottom of the housing and thence undergate I and onto conveyor 20.

In normal operation the gate 3 is raised far enough to permit apredetermined rate of flow of iines thru opening 2 and there is nosubstantial accumulation of nes in housing 4. When gas pressure is builtup within the hopper I due to evaporation of moisture, this pressure maysuddenly expel a large amount of iine material into housing 4, oftencompletely filling the housing. The depression 4a in the top wall of thehousing opposes expulsion of excessive amounts of material from thehopper, and, by restricting the chamber within the housing, impedes flowof excessive amounts of material into pan I4. Since that material cannotescape from the housing except along the bottom wall I5 of the pan, noblow-out can result and excess gas under pressure in the hopper willseek other outlets and will escape up thru the materials thereabove inthat hopper. Since vibrator I8 is continually vibrating the pan andconstantly feeding fine material beneath the lower edge of gate IU, anysurplus of nes which may be expelled by gas pressure from hopper I intohousing 4 will remain in the housing until they are removed by thevibration of the pan.

In this manner housing 4 acts as an expansion chamber into which iinesmay be expelled by gas pressure in the hopper and, when largely orsubstantially lled with fines, will act as a dam against further escapeof gas therethru.

While the dimensions previously mentioned have been found to be quitesatisfactory in commercial use, it is not to be understood that thosedimensions are critical but only that they are given by way ofillustration of dimensions which have given good satisfaction.Obviously, where the amount of moist material delivered into hopper I issmall in amount and blow-outs are, therefore, uncommon or minor in forceor Volume, the gate IB may be raised, provided of course that thecarrying capacity of conveyor 20 is not exceeded. On the other hand, ifthe amount of moist material is larger and blow-outs are more common orgreater in intensity or vol'- ume, the space between the open bottom ofhousing 4 and/or the lower edge of gate II) may be decreased byadjusting the pan upwardly or the gate downwardly, or both.

Having thus described my invention so that others skilled in the art maybe able to understand and practice the same, I state that what I desireto secure by Letters Patent is dened bywhat is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of a hopper having a lateral discharge opening, agate for said opening, a housing consisting of walls attached to thehopper about said opening, having a top opening thru which said gate maybe moved and having an open bottom and an open lower end, said housingwalls defining a chamber extending downwardly from said hopper at anacute angle to the horizontal, a gate for said open end of the housingand a vibrating pan comprising a bottom wall positioned adjacent to theopen bottom of the housing and extending beyond its lower end, and sidewalls extending upwardly from the bottom wall outside of said housing.

2. The combination of a hopper having a lateral discharge opening, agate for said opening, a housing consisting of walls attached to thehopper about said opening and having an open bottom and an open lowerend, said housing Walls defining a chamber extending downwardly fromsaid hopper at an acute angle to the horizontal, the top wall of saidhousing having an opening thru which said gate may be moved and having atransverse depression between its ends forming a constriction of saidchamber, a gate for said open end of the housing and a vibrating pancomprising a bottom wall positioned adjacent to the open bottom of thehousing and extending beyond its lower end, and side walls extendingupwardly from the bottom wall outside of said housing.

3. The combination of a hopper having a lateral discharge opening, agate for said opening, a housing consisting of walls attached to thehopper about said opening, having an opening thru which said gate may bemoved and having an open bottom and an open lower end, said housingwalls defining a chamber extending downwardly from said hopper at anacute angle to the horizontal, a gate for said open end of the housingand an endwise reciprocable pan comprising a bottom wall positionedbeneath and adjacent to the open bottom of the housing and extendingbeyond its lower end and side walls extending upwardly from the bottomwall in suiiiciently close proximity to the outside of said housing topre- Vent substantial amounts of finely divided solids from passingupwardly out of said pan.

4. The combination of a hopper having a lateral discharge opening, agate for said opening, an endwise reciprocable pan comprising a bottomwall and side walls extending upwardly therefrom, and means forconducting iinely divided solids from said discharge opening to saidpan, said means comprising a housing attached to the hopper about saidopening and projecting into said pan, said housing consisting of top,side and bottom walls deiining a chamber inclined downwardly at an acuteangle to said trough, the top wall having an opening thru which saidgate may be moved, the top and side walls of the housing extendingbeyond the vertical projection of the lower end of said bottom Wall, anda movable gate at the lower ends of said top and side walls.

PARKE E. THOMAS.

